One of the most underrated movies of the nineties was undoubtedly Peter Jackson’s The Frighteners. When Universal released it in 1996, it came and went without much notice, but it proved to be an important film in Jackson’s career. It was his first big-budget Hollywood movie following Bad Taste, Braindead, and Heavenly Creatures, with its success behind the scenes paving the way for him to direct The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It starred Michael J. Fox as a con artist who uses his psychic abilities to eke out a living with the help of his ghostly pals, played by Jeffrey Combs, Chi McBride, and the great John Astin.
While a box office dud, The Frighteners found a second life following The Lord of the Rings, building a devoted cult following. It also became one of the standout DVD releases of the early format, thanks to a 14-minute-longer director’s cut and an exhaustive four-hour making-of documentary that was really the first of its kind. In many ways, it paved the way for the extensive special features Jackson would later include with his Lord of the Rings releases.
Now, Arrow Video is bringing The Frighteners to 4K, with the set arriving on October 26, just in time for Halloween. The three-disc release will include both the theatrical and director’s cuts in 4K Ultra HD, with the director’s cut also featuring an audio commentary by Jackson.
Uniquely, Arrow is also including open matte versions of both cuts on a separate Blu-ray. Because the movie was shot in Super 35, the open matte presentations reveal additional picture information, making them a fascinating alternative way to experience the film.
The third disc is loaded with special features, including:
- No Way to Make a Living: A Look Back at The Frighteners, a feature-length documentary produced in 2022 featuring new interviews with Dee Wallace, Jake Busey, cinematographer John Blick, production designer Grant Major, creature and miniature effects supervisor Richard Taylor, visual effects supervisor Wes Takahashi, and producer/editor Jamie Selkirk.
- The Making of The Frighteners, an exhaustive 225-minute documentary exploring every aspect of the film’s production, from script development and casting to post-production and release, originally produced in 1998 for the LaserDisc release, complete with Jackson’s 2005 retrospective introduction.
- A Conversation with Richard Taylor and Alexandre Poncet, a 2022 interview with the man behind the film’s creature and miniature effects.
- Image gallery.
Nearly thirty years after its release, The Frighteners remains one of Peter Jackson’s most entertaining and underrated films, and this looks like the definitive home video release.
Will you be picking up The Frighteners on 4K? Let us know in the comments!
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